When Mother Jones magazine asked me to contribute an article on the present state of the movement against the Iraq war – and what to do about it – I was delighted to comply. After all, I’ve been inveighing against the sad state of the antiwar movement for years, and here was my chance to reach honest liberals and leftists with my critique. And I think I did a pretty good job of it. But see what you think.
I’m getting into the home stretch of my new book, tentatively titled The Terror Enigma, out from Verso Books next year, and so I’m glad for the opportunity to turn you loose on this little essay. Enjoy.
P.S. I also note that my Mother Jones piece is paired with one from Geov Parrish, who is in our spotlight today. Geov gives a perspective on the antiwar movement from the Left.
P.P.S. Dept. of ‘I told you so’ (Part I): The sniper shootings in Maryland, it turns out, are almost certainly not the work of Islamic terrorists, but of a home-grown nut, as I averred in a recent column. This morning [October 21] we learn the sniper is demanding money. Unless this is Al Qaeda’s latest fundraising technique, I guess this rules out the foreign terrorist scenario. But are the pundits who jumped on this as almost certainly a manifestation of Islamic terrorism backtracking, or even admitting they might have been wrong? Not on your life….
P.P.P.S. Dept of ‘I told you so’ (Part II): In yet another recent column, I opined that the revelation by North Korea that Pyongyang is gong nuclear would put the Bush administration’s war plans in the Middle East on hold:
"This White House doesn’t want to go down in history as the administration that presided over the vaporization of Tokyo and large segments of South Korea. How they will prevent that outcome is bound to take up more of their attention, as the crisis worsens, and leave room for little else. The President recently received Ariel Sharon at the White House, and reportedly promised that the Israelis will get at least two weeks notice before we attack Iraq. If I were Sharon, I wouldn’t hold my breath."
"…We may have been saved from the prospect of war in the Middle East – only to be faced with an even greater crisis on the other side of the Asian landmass."
Yesterday we read in the New York Post: "War on Ice: Report." Just remember: you read it here first….
